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Sounds True is a proud sponsor of the 2008 Global Sound Conference,
May 9-12, in Los Angeles, California. |
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Company Timeline
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1985:
At age 22, Tami Simon started Sounds True with a dream, a tape
recorder, and a $50,000 inheritance she received upon the death of
her father. Though she had no business experience and only a vague
idea of what she wanted the company to be, Tami had her guiding principle
strongly in place: to “disseminate spiritual wisdom.”
In the early days, Tami began by recording conferences and interviews
with teachers like Ram Dass and Stephen Levine. She broadcasted
portions of these recordings on a radio show that she hosted on
Boulder County Public Radio, and then made the cassettes of the
entire recordings available for purchase. She also began to connect
with the Boulder music scene by offering cassette duplication service
to local artists. |
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1988:
Tami Simon joined forces with direct marketing catalog expert Devon
Christensen. Over the next years, they developed the Sounds True catalog—which
would become the primary engine for connecting the company directly
to customers in the decade to come. Tami concentrated on editing the
conference recordings for better quality, while Devon, who became
a 20% owner through sweat equity, solidified the identity of the packaging
and direct mail catalog. One of Devon’s most important contributions
was the introduction of Sounds True’s 100% Lifetime
Guarantee, which is still in place today—and states
that any Sounds True product may be returned at any time for a full
refund or exchange, no questions asked. |
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1990:
Sounds True published its first breakout audio title: Women Who
Run With Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D. This
program was unusual in that it began as an original audio program,
and later became a best-selling book. This was the first program that
put Sounds True “on the map” for a larger audience.
This title also marked a shift away from conference recordings
to audio programs recorded in a studio setting. Tami realized that
in the studio, an author could speak directly with the listener,
creating a more intimate experience than recording a lecture given
to a large audience. This approach also allowed Sounds True to design
and craft the audio learning experience with the listener in mind.
This led to the evolution of Sound True’s signature style—unscripted
recordings that capture the charisma, energetic transmission and
“living wisdom” of the teacher.
Also this year, Tami brings the first dog to the Sounds True offices.
This set a precedent that would be cherished by dog-owning employees
and their four-legged companions for years to come. |
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1991:
Sounds True developed its first bookstore-friendly packaging for audio
programs and expanded into bookstores, marking the company’s
first foray from catalog-only sales into retail distribution. |
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1993:
Sounds True created its first Audio Learning Courses—Soul
Life with Thomas Moore and The Present Moment with Thich
Naht Hahn. This new format, featuring longer audio teaching sessions
for more in-depth learning, was meant to provide the equivalent teaching
of a college course or a continuing education class. |
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1995:
Tami moved her home from one Boulder apartment to another, and in
the process of the move, she threw two boxes of old cassette teaching
programs into the dumpster. At this moment, she became convinced
that someone else could have benefited from these cassettes and that
Sounds True needed to find a way to make recycling of old audio programs
easy for its customers.
From this inspiration arose Sounds True’s prison
library project, which has become one of the company’s
most unusual and successful donation programs. Since then, Sounds
True has received countless letters from prisoners who have been
exposed to authentic spiritual teachings for the first time through
this program and are moved to make positive changes in their lives.
Today, Sounds True’s donation project also includes libraries,
low-income hospices, and more.
In 1995, Sounds True also appeared on Inc. magazine’s
list of the nation’s 500 fastest-growing privately-held companies.
The company is selected for this list again in 1996. |
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1996:
Sounds True released Energy Anatomy with Caroline Myss. This
was the first Audio Learning Course to sell over 100,000 copies, and
has become one of the best selling titles in Sounds True’s history.
In this year, Sounds True also makes its first venture into publishing
music with traditional Celtic songs from Nóirín Ní
Riain and the Tibetan flute music of Nawang Khechog.
At this point in the company’s history, Sounds True became
strongly focused on the importance of spiritual practice, and getting
people to actually engage in regular spiritual practice in whatever
way possible. In the service of this idea, Sounds True releases
its first video, Meditation for Beginners with Jack Kornfield,
and its first correspondence course, Insight Meditation with
Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein. |
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1997:
Sounds True had outgrown its offices, and decided to design and construct
its first new building in the Colorado Tech Center in Louisville.
This office is 13,100 square feet and features its own digital recording
studio. |
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1999:
Sounds True introduced an ESOP plan—a program that gives ownership
to long-term employees of the company.
Also this year, Sounds True embarked upon a partnership with the Andrew
Weil Newsletter, and publishes Breathing with Dr. Andrew
Weil. This program remains Sounds True’s all-time best-seller. |
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2002:
After 14 years, Devon Christensen left the company, selling his 20%
ownership share to be redistributed in the company’s ESOP plan. |
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2003:
The first Sounds True listening stations arrived in retail stores,
including booksellers, spas, and gift shops. This project began with
50 listening stations—by 2006, there were over 700 in stores
like Wild Oats, Whole Foods, and independent bookstores. |
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2004:
Sounds True launched its book division with a line of Integrated book/CDs.
These titles combine the written word and audio instruction on CD
for an enhanced learning experience. The flagship authors for this
project were Stephen LaBerge with Lucid Dreaming, Sandra
Ingermann with Shamanic Journeying, and Jack Kornfied with
Meditation for Beginners. |
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2005:
Sounds True entered the world of conventional book publishing with
the release of David Deida’s Way of the Superior Man and
the publication of the company’s first original hardcover books,
Gangaji’s The Diamond In Your Pocket and Angeles Arrien’s
The Second Half of Life. Also, Sounds True launched The
Open Door. This project provides radio stations with “wisdom
clips for the inner life”—short audio segments from
leading teachers offered free to broadcasters, to be played whenever
they like without cost. The goal of The Open Door is to give listeners
a chance to “turn their minds” with sudden, distilled
moments of spiritual wisdom.
In July of 2005, Sounds True completes construction of its new
15,000 square foot warehouse building, adjacent to its corporate
offices. |
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2007: Sounds True launches its downloadable
store, offering an ever–expanding library of our titles available
for digital deliveray. The store features complete audio programs
and music albums including revived classics no longer available in
traditional media, as well as the “iMeditate” series of
short, inexpensive guided sessions from our most popular teachers. |
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2007: To accommodate our growth, Sounds
True completes construction on a new wing to our publishing building,
adding 28 new offices. |
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2008: Sounds True hosts our first Webstream
Live event, featuring a series of live webcast events with Eckhart
Tolle. Listeners from 40 different countries tuned in to hear over
10 hours of original material from Eckhart, and the complete archives
are now available for purchase from our downloadable store. |
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2008: Sounds True hires our first President,
Grant Couch, to oversee operations and manage the growth of the company. |
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